Self-dumping washer



March 4, 1941. J BOULADE 2,233,803

SELF-DUMPING WASHER Filed Feb. 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 4, 1941. J. L. BOULADE SELF-DUMPING WASHER Filed Feb. 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Shet 2 N INVENTOI? J. 1.. BOUL AD March 4, 1941. J. L. BOULADE SELF-DUMPING WASHER Filed Feb. 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l/E/YTOI? J. L... BOULADE.

March 4, 1941. J, BOULADE SELF-DUMPING WASHER Filed Feb. 28, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 llYl/E/YTOI? BOULADE 4 Mmch 4, 1941. J L BQULADE I 2,233,8@3

SELF-DUMPING WASHER Filed Feb. 28, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 UNITED sm'rss earner QFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in washers for use in commercial laundries and the like, and of the type disclosed in my United States Patent No. 2,046,607; dated July '7, 1936. and the present improvements comprise improved and greatly simplified means for automatically operating the dumping-of the washer by means of a single control, operating in conjunction with simple and improved fluid pressure actuated means for completely carrying out in proper sequence the several steps required to discharge or dump the washer, after a washing operation has been completed.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved self-dumping Washer.

Another object is to provide a new and improved self-dumping washer having improved means by which the several steps in dumping and returning to a normal loading or washing position may easily be carried out automatically in proper'sequence and with a saving of time and labor. 1

A further object is to provide a new and improved self-dumping washer that may be easily unloaded by practically untrained or nontechnical operatives.

A still further object is to provide a, new and improved self-dumping washer having improved and greatly simplified means for operating the same.

I accomplish these and other objects. by means of the improved device disclosed'in the drawings forming a part of the present application, and in WhiCh Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line ll of Fig. 5 of thedrawings, in the direction indicated;

Fig. 2 is a plan View, partly in section, of the device with the cover of the housing removed;

Figs. 3 and 4 are enlarged broken detailed views of the locking mechanism;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation, with a portion of the operating mechanism shown in vertical section;

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view of one of the controlling valves;

Fig. '7 is a transverse sectional view taken on ine 1-1 of Fig. 1, in the direction indicated;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 8-8 of Fig. l, in the direction indicated;

Figs. 9. 10, 11 and 12 are enlarged broken and 7 vertical sectional view of the operating and release mechanism;

55* Figs. 13 and 14 are enlarged sectional views disclosing the mechanism for holding the cylinder closed; and

Fig. 15 is an enlarged, broken sectional view of the mechanism for moving the washer to dumping position.

Referring to the drawings:

The numeral l is used to designate a suitable housing containing a suitable tank or vat 2 within which is contained the usual cleansing solution of soap and hot water or other detergent 3. The housing I is provided with a preferably semicylindrical cover or lid 4 hingedly connected thereto and rigidly connected to a pintle 6 extending beyond one'end of the housing I and provided with a gear 1 extending through a slot 8 in the side of a cylinder 9 and meshing with the teeth II of a piston l2 slidably mounted within said cylinder 9', said top or lid 4, gear 1, cylinder 9 and piston I2 being hereinafter referred to as the first fluid pressure actuated means, the pur- 29 pose of which will hereinafter more fully appear- An open rectangular cradle I4 is rotatably mounted within the housing I by means of trunnions it, one of which extends exteriorly of the housing I andis provided with a suitable sheave or pulley ll, by means of which said cradle may be rotated.

A cylindrical washer I8 is split longitudinally to provide an upper half l9 and a lower half 2|, said upper half I 9 being hingedly connected at one longitudinal edge as at 22 to. one side of the cradle l4 and providedat its opposite edge with an arcuate fiange 23 normally resting upon a tubular pintle 24, by means of whichpintle 24 I said lower half 2| is hingedly connected to the 3 opposite side of said cradle M. The edge of the lower half 2| opposite its pintle 24 is provided with a series of arcuate extensions 26 which pass through openings 27' in the hinged edge of the upper half I9 and rest upon its pintle 22, as dis- 4 closed in Figs. 2, 7, 13, and 14 of the drawings, to support said lower half 2| when closed or normal to holdthat edge locked in conjunction with the upper half I9 while the washer I 8 is rotating.

The upper half l9, when closed, and when the cradle I4 is reversed in rotating and said upper half is lowermost, engages and prevents said arcuate extensions 26 from being swung away from said cradle l4 and pintle 22' and thereby locks the free edge of the lower half to said cradle i l and upper half l9. When the upper half [9 is moved to uncover the lower half 2|, these extensions 26 are also uncovered and that edge of said lower half 2| is free to move to dumping position, hereinafter more fully setforth 50. which mechanism, from the square shaft 38 to several parts are moved to unlocking position,

hereinafter 'more fully set forth.

The apertures 29 of the tube 3| are provided with reduced slots or extensions 32 of sufiicient dimension to engage the shanks of the headed, pins 21 but insufficient to permit the passage of,

the heads thereof therethrough. The said tube 3| is normally and yieldingly held in looking position, as disclosed in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, by means of a spring 35 interposed between a transverse pin 33 rigidly set in the tubular pintle 24, which passes throughlongitudinal slots 34 in said tube 3| to permit longitudinal movement only of said tube 3| within,

said pintle 24, and a second transverse rigid pin 36 set within said tube 3|, thereby normally holding the apertures 29 out of register with the apertures 28 of the pintle 24, and the slots or extensions 32 in engaging relation with said pins 21. t

One end of the pintle 24 extends exteriorly of one end of the cradle Hand is provided with a nut head 31, through the center of which is slidably mounted one end of the tube 3|, as disclosed in detail in Fig.15'of the drawings, the end of said tube 3| being normally and yieldingly heldflush with the outer face or end of the head 31 by the tension of the spring 35 and the limiting stop as provided by the action of the pin 33 within the slot 34.

A dumping mechanism comprises the following:

A square shaft 38 is slidably mounted for limited longitudinal movement only within the hub 39 of a gear 4| rotatably and coaxially mounted within the housing and in respect to the tubular pintle 24 and tube 3| therein. The gear 4| extends through a slot 42 within a second cylinder 43 and engages the teeth 44 on a piston 46 slidably mounted within said cylinder 43,

the piston 46 is hereinafter referred to as a separate fluid pressure actuated means, as will more fully appear, v

' The square shaft 38, aligned coaxially with the nut head 31, has rigidly mounted upon its adjacent end a socket head 41 into which socket head 41 the end of the square shaft 38 extends sufficiently to engage the end of and move the tube 3| slidably mounted within said nut or head 31 and the tubular pintle 24 of which said head 31is a rigid part, when said socket head 41 is'moved to engage the nut head 31, and move the opposite end of said tube 3| beyond the opposite end of the cradle l4 and into a bearing 49 arranged coaxially with said tube 3 when the cradle i4 is in dumping position, to provide an additional support for said cradle and lower half 2|, when said lower half is being moved to dumping position. I

A' suitable spring ,5| is interposed between the hub 39 of the gear 4| and a collar 52 on said shaft and normally and yieldingly holds the shaft ,38 and socket head 41 thereon from engaging the nut head 31. Engagement of said socket head 41 with the nut head 31 is also prevented, while the washer or cylinder I8 is rotating during a washing process, until said cylinder comes to rest in unloading or dumping position, when said heads 31 and 41 are coaxially aligned, by means of a circular guard rail 53 mounted upon the end of the cradle I4 and arranged in the same plane or flush with the outer face or surface of the nut head 31 and having the ends of said circular guard 55 offset back of said plane only a short distance on each side of said nut head 31, to permitengagement of the socket 41 with the nut head 31 only when coaxially aligned with the lower half 2| in a dumping position, as disclosed in details in Fig. 1

15 of the drawings.

The square shaft 38 is provided, at the end opposite the head 41, with a rounded portion 53 rotatably and slidably extending into a cylinder 54 provided with a round port 56 to a first connection 51 leading to the cylinder 9 of the first fluid pressure actuated means, and an elongated port 58, in the same transverse plane with the port 56, leading tov a second connection 59 leading into the bottom of the cylinder 43, of the separate fluid pressure actuated means.

A sleeve valve 6| is rigidly connected to the rounded end 53 of the square shaft 38 and is rotatably and slidably mounted within the cylinder 54, said sleeve being normally held by the tension of the spring 5| over saidports 56 and 58. The sleeve 6| is also provided with a round port 62 normally in longitudinal alignment with the first port 56. A passage 63 connects the interior of the cylinder 54'and the-inside of the sleeve 6| with a three way cock 64 which, by means of a lever 65 may be partially rotated to connect said passage 63 with a source of fluid'pressure 66 or with a release or exhaust port 61.

A cam 69 is connected to thecock 64 and is provided with stops 1| and 12, preferably beveled on one side, arranged to be engaged by a pin 13 adjacent one end of a flexible bar 14 more fully set forth, operated by the spokes of the gear 4|.

One end of a shunt connection 8| connects with the, interior of the cylinder 9 only when the piston I2 therein is moved to its uppermost position to open the cover 4, hereinafter explained, the other end of said connection 8| being connected to the enlarged bottom 82 of the cylinder 43 within which enlarged portion 82 is slidably mounted a balanced valve 84 normally urged to follow the piston 46 when its starts to move upwardly by means of a spring 85 and to engage a seat 86 and close said other end of the shunt c'onnection 8| to said cylinder 43, g

A pair of latches 9| are freely suspended, from the top interior of the cover 4 of the housing and. have their lower free ends resting within inclined pockets 93 of the lower part of the said housing to prevent said latches from engaging Preferably, the diameter of the valve 6| is greater than the diameter of the piston I2 of the first fluid pressure actuated means, and the diameter of the piston 46 of the separate fluid pressure actuated means is less than the diameter of the piston I2.

In operation When the washer I8 is ready for dumping, the power, not shown, for rotating said washer and the cradle I4 is shut off and as the speed of rotation of said cradle decreases sufficiently, the lever 65 is moved to set the cook 64 in the position to connect the source of fluid pressure 86 with the passage 63 which will first move the sleeve valve BI and shafts 53 and 38 to in turn move the outer face of the socket head 41 against the face of the guard rail 55. When the nut head 31 becomes aligned with the socket head 41, and the speed of rotation of the cradle I4 decreases sufliciently to permit engagement, the socket head 41 will enter the offset portions of the guard 55 and the said nut head 31 will be engaged by said socket head 41 and the protruding head of the square shaft '38 will engage the adjacent end of the tube 3| and move the same to disengage the headed pins 21 and move the opposite end of said tube 3| into the bearing 49, thereby securing the cradle I 4 and washer I8 against rotation. The three way cock will then be connected to the source of fluid pressure and in the position indicated in Fig. 9 of the drawings, with the stop 12 against the pin 13 of the flexible rod 1 4.

As the fluid pressure moves the sleeve valve 6| to accomplish the above, the aperture 62 in said sleeve 6| will uncover the port 56 to the first connection 51 and said fluid pressure is passed into the cylinder 9, moving the piston I2 upwardly and rotating the gear 1 to raise the cover 4 of the housing I. In the initial portion of such movement the latches 9| will be cleared from their retentive pockets 93 and will engage the catches 92 of the upper half I9 and raise the same to the open position indicated in dotted lines at the left of Fig. '7.

When the cover 4 and upper half I9 are opened, the piston 12 will be in its uppermost position and. the bottom of said piston I2 will uncover the shunt connection 8| to the lower end of the cylinder 43 and start raising the piston 46 therein. As piston 46 continues its upward movement and rotates the gear 4|, first, the balanced valve 84 will follow and close the shunt connection 8|, to the cylinder 43, thereby holding the cylinder 9 under compression to lock the cover 4 and upper half I9 in raised position, and the square shaft 38, rotated during movement of the lower half to dumping position, will in turn rotate the sleeve valve BI and close the port 56, thereby further closing said cylinder 9 against release. Continuing, the sleeve valve 6| will uncover the elongated port 58 and admit the fluid pressure to the second connection 59 and thereby continue to raise the piston 46 and move the lower half 2| to full dumping position.

At this time the formerly lower spoke of the gear 4| moving to the former position of the upper spoke, as disclosed in Fig. 5 of the drawings, will engagethe bell-crank 11 and gradually move the flexible bar 14 and pin 13 thereon to engage the lug or stop 12, as disclosed in Fig. 9 of the drawings, and move the cam 69 and cock 64 to neutral position, as disclosed in Fig. 10 of the drawings, so that the supply of fluid pressure to the cylinder 43 will gradually be discontinued and movement of said piston 46 andlower half 2| will be automatically stopped, and said upper half will be held in open position and the lower half 2| will beheld in dumping position until the cock 64 is again operated.

Afterthe lower half is unloaded, bymoving the lever 65 to releasing position, as disclosed in Fig. 11 of the drawings, the stop 1| will contact the pin 13 on the flexible bar 14 and pressure will be released from the cylinder 43 through the second connection 59, elongated port 58 and release port 51 of the cock 64 until the lower-half is returned or lowered to normal position in the cradle I4 and the upper spoke of the gear 4| gradually reverses the bell-crank 11 and moves the rod 14 and pin 13 thereon to shove the cam 69 and cook 64 to neutral position, as disclosed in Fig. 12 of the drawings. The upper half I9 will still be locked against descent.

Whenthe lower half 2| is again charged or loaded, the bar 14 is flexed or bent, as disclosed in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 9 ofthe drawings, and the cock 64 is again moved to releasing position to permit the escape of fluid pressure from the cylinder 9 to'lower the cover 4 and upper half I9, the balanced valve 84 having been moved by the descent of the piston 46 and the release port 56 having been opened by the return of the lower half to lowered position.

As the lower half 2| drops to lowered position the fluid pressure is released from both cylinders 9 and 43 and finally the tension of the spring 5| will move the sleeve valve 6| to release or disengage the socket head 41 from the nut head 31 and permit the tube the spring 35 to engage the headed pins 21 and lock the upper and lower halves together and to release said tube 3| from the bearing 49, so that the washer I8 is again ready for rotation.

Having described my invention I'claim:

1. A self-dumping Washer comprising a housing; a cover hingedly mounted on said housing; a cradle mounted for horizontal rotation within said housing; a cylindrical washer in said cradle and split longitudinally to provide upper and lower halves, each half being hingedly connected to an opposite side of said cradle; a cylinder; a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder; means operatively connecting said piston with the cover of said housing to open and close the cover when said piston is actuated; means secured to and actuated by opening of said cover to engage and open said upper half of said Washer; a second cylinder; a second piston slidably mounted within said second cylinder; dumping means connected to said second piston for engaging and dumping said lower half of said washer and normally disengaging said lower half; a source of fluid pressure; connections from said source to said first and second cylinders; means for moving said dumping means into engagement with said lower half; and fluid pressure controlling means connected to said connection to first actuate said first piston to raise said cover and upper half and then to actuate said second piston to move said lower half to dumping position.

2. A self-dumping washer comprising a housing; a cover hingedly mounted on said housing; a cradle mounted for horizontal rotation within said housing; a cylindrical washer mounted in said cradle and split longitudinally to provide upper and lower halves, each half being hingedly connected to an opposite side of said cradle; a cylinder; a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder; means operatively connecting said piston with the cover of said housing to open and 3| to be moved by the tension of "close the same when said piston i actuated; means secured to and actuated by the opening of said cover to engage and open said upper half when said cover is opened; a second cylinder; a-

second piston slidably mounted within said second cylinder; dumping means operatively connected tosaid second piston for engaging and dumping said lower half and normally disengaging said lower half; means for moving said dumping means to engage said lower half; a source of fluidpressure; connections from said source to said first and second cylinders; and fluid-pressure controlling means connected to said connections to first actuate said first piston to open said cover and upper half and thereafter .to actuate said second piston to move said dumping means and said. lower half to dumping position, and for holding said cover and upper half in open position while said lower half is moved to dumping position and returned to normal position within said cradle.

l 3. A self-dumping washer comprising a housing; a cover hingedly mounted on said housing; a cradle mounted for horizontal rotation within said housing; a cylindrical washer mounted within said cradle and split longitudinally to provide ton with the cover cylinder;

upper and lower halves, each half being hingedly connected to an opposite side of said cradle; a cylinder; a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder; means operatively connecting said pisof said housing to open and close the same when said piston is actuated; means actuated by the opening of said cover to engage and open said upper half; a second cylinder; a piston slidably mountedwithin said second dumping means connected to said second piston 'for engaging and dumping said lower half and normally disengaging said lower half; a third cylinder; a sleeve valve slidably mounted within said third cylinder and connected to said dumping means; a source of fluid pressure connected to said third cylinder; a normally closed connection from said third to said first cylinder; a second normally closed connection from said first cylinder to said second cylinder; and fluidpressure controlling means connected to said third cylinder for admitting fluid pressure thereto to move said sleeve valve to move said dumping 1 der to operate said dumping means.

a cradle mounted for mechanism into engagement with said lower half and to open said connection from said third cylinder to said first cylinder to move said first piston to open the cover of said housing and open said upper half and to open said second connection from said first cylinder to said second cylin- 4. Aself-dumping washer comprising a housing; a cover hingedly connected to said housing; horizontal rotation within said'housing; a cylindrical washer mounted in said cradle and split longitudinally to provide upper and lower halves, each half being hingedly connected at one edge to an opposite side of said cradle; a cylinder; a piston slidably mounted within said cylinder; means operatively connecting said piston to said cover to open and close the said cover when said piston isactuated; means secured to and actuated byfthe opening of said cover to engage and open said upper half a second cylinder of smaller diameter than the diameter of the first cylinder; a piston slidably mounted within said second cylinder; dumping means connected to said second piston for engaging said lower half when in lowermost position and for dumping the same, said dumping means being normally disengaged from said lower half; a third cylinder of larger diameter than the diameter of the first cylinder; a sleeve valve slidably mounted within said third cylinder and connected to said dumping means; a source of fiuid pressure connected to said third cylinder; a fluid-pressure connection from said third cylinder to said first cylinder and normally closed by said sleeve valve; a second fluid-pressure connection from said first cylinder to said second cylinder andnormally closed by said first piston when said cover and upper half are closed; and

fluid-pressure controlling means for admitting 

